The Birds and the Bees
by EbonyIvoryy
Summary: Post Promised Day. The summer heat is enough of a predator, but can Ed and Winry fend off a whole hive of bees?


**Title:** "The Birds and the Bees" (Literal title — no pun intended.)  
**Pairing:** Ed/Winry  
**Rating:** T  
**Summary: **Post Promised Day. The summer heat is enough of a predator, but can Ed and Winry fend off a whole hive of bees?  
**Prompt:** Bumblebees. (Prompt also correlates with "almost-kiss")  
**A/N:** As far as timelines are concerned, this fic takes place a few months after Ed and Al return home from the Promised Day. And immediately, -somewhat awkward- Ed/Winry sparks are flying, as I'd imagine in my headcanon. Oh Lordie, I haven't written EdWin in so long! Woo~ I'm overwhelmed with enthusiasm. I miss this pairing, truly. ;^; /wipes a tear

**_~xxx~_**

The August weather was not suitable _whatsoever_ for a rigorous task such as pulling weeds. Edward's back ached like hell—bending over for ten minutes at a time—tugging the dead grass from its roots. The needles poked at his skin insistently, irritating it to a raw pink hue. It must have gotten in his clothes as well; there wasn't a spot on his body that lacked an itching sensation. The sun's rays shun down on him, making it at least ninety-five degrees, if not more. The back of his neck glistened with sweat, as did his hairline, forehead, chest, and worst of all, the dreaded armpits. In contrast, his mouth lacked moisture, leaving the aftertaste of sandpaper on his tongue. His lips, chapped on the surface, split like earth on a fault line. Mosquitoes nibbled on his ears; red ants gnawed on the leather material of his boots.

Ed's uncomfortable state led him to damning Pinako, who had instructed him and Winry to clean up the neighbor's yard (or more like _plantation_). A mile from their own home lied fields of gold, some as high as his waist. If one were to go further into the fields, it became greener and as tall as his head, turning into an acre of corn crops and abnormally large sunflowers.

Winry had dressed for the occasion, picking out the lightest sundress she owned, plus a floppy sunhat, which effectively shielded the bright rays from her eyes. Meanwhile, Edward was stuck wearing his typical white dress shirt—sleeves rolled up to his elbows—and a pair of heavy, burgundy trousers.

He glared at the young lady from the corner of his eye. To him (in his stubbornly blinded mind), she did this on purpose, laughing like a fiend as she watched him suffer in the summer heat. Sure, she looked cute with that decorative daisy placed in the crease of her hat, but Ed would never admit it that, not even to himself. The fact that it had only been two months since he returned home from the Promised Day, yet they were already forcing him to do these treacherous chores, had him fuming. Because of this, Winry was the farthest thing from 'cute' at the moment.

With a grunt, Ed's calloused hands yanked a weed from the ground, shoving it into a plastic bag. He continued this routine for some time. Miss Rockbell was not oblivious to the tension in the air, but decided to ignore it; after all, his temper was nothing new.

A faint vibration reached the young man's ears. He froze. All of his senses narrowed to his eardrums as he listened closer. It was almost... a humming— no, a buzzing. Ed stepped closer to the source of the noise, weeds crunching from beneath his feet. He peered down, when something rather... bulky... appeared in his line of vision. The lids of his eyes squinted as he knelled down in front of the object. The jaws of curiosity snapped shut on his form, holding him captive to foolish wonder. He grabbed the nearest stick and began poking the... thing, which somewhat blended in the golden grass. Edward continued to endlessly jab it, ignorant of what danger was to come. With each poke, the object swayed on its platform, the buzzing sound shifting from corner to corner. The buzzing grew from a simmer to a boil. It took but a minute for him to realize just what he was poking, but by then, he barely had time to react before a swarm of bees came bursting out of their hive.

"Shit!"

There was only one thing to do in this situation: scramble to his feet and run like hell. Mr. Elric did just that. Once the bees recognized their disturbance, they wouldn't stop until they let their stingers sink inside the victim's tender flesh.

Before Winry could turn her head to see what all the chaos was about, Edward snatched her wrist and dragged her to the corn fields.

"Ack! What in the world are you doing, Ed?" she hollered, struggling to keep the floppy hat on her head.

"Just shut up and run!"

Right as they disappeared into the tall blades of grass, Winry glanced back. The first thing in sight? A swarm of pissed-off bees darting right behind them. Her gradual reaction was the shocking numbness, followed by a wave of genuine fear.

"What did you do?" she shrieked. Blades of grass sliced the sides of her face, bits and pieces landing in her mouth. This caused her to sputter and cough in disgust.

The vegetation surrounding them stood so high, only the top of Edward's blonde head could be seen from above. That didn't help their situation, though. The mad buzzing was rising in volume, and the insects' speed was advancing. What's worse, the sixteen-year-olds were struggling to catch their breath.

Ed took notice of the forest of trees dead ahead. He led his mechanic to the clearing, and almost simultaneously, the two dived into separate hiding places. As Winry jumped, she left her pretty sunhat behind; the wind and gravity carried it elsewhere. Edward found a nice and comfy bush, while Winry found a tree to climb up.

With the bumblebees fast approaching, Edward quickly waved his friend down, trying to get her to migrate to his hiding place. She shook her head. Not only did she doubt the amount of time she had to climb back down, but her ankles were chained to shackles of crippling fear.

His eyebrows furrowed. Damn it, why must Winry pick now of all times to be defiant? Furious creases rippled over his forehead. He harshly glared up at her, nodding his head in drastic motions.

"No!" Her lungs finally had the gull to speak. "Why don't _you _come up _here_?"

He retorted with a, "No way in hell! Now climb back down, idiot! The bees will find you there!"

"Who are you calling idiot, idiot? I'm not the one who got us into this mess!"

"Whatever! Get down unless you want to get stung!"

"No!"

"Winry…!" he raised his voice in frustration, as if speaking to an uncooperative toddler. "This is no time to be stubborn! Get down from there _now!_"

"I'm not the stubborn one, moron! Besides, the leave will hide me!"

"No they won't!"

"Yes they will!"

"You wanna bet?"

"Yes, yes I do!"

"Fine!" Ed spat. He went back to his spot beneath Earth's hair, sulking. Alas, he couldn't take a chance. His head popped out of the bush yet again.

"Damn you, Winry! If you don't climb down in five sec—"

He was immediately cut off by the sound of racing insects, buzzing so loudly that even human ears rung. Winry curled into a ball. Edward ducked into the branches. They remained in those positions for a while; so long, in fact, that their limbs grew sore and restless. If the young man were to hear a girl's scream, he would leap out—with no regrets—in order to shield Winry from the deadly onslaught of numerous stingers. Fortunately, there was no screaming.

A few minutes came and went. Before they could make a noise of distress, the buzzing grew silent. The predators were gone. They were safe.

Hesitantly, Edward clawed his way out of the bush. His eyes darted around for any sign of those little bastards. When he was convinced that they were long gone, he let his guard down and dusted himself off.

"Winry?" he called softly, peering up to the tree. The leaves had hidden her body, he'd give her that. Still, worry crept up his spine when no answer came.

He hiked up the tree trunk with the slyness of a primate, repeating her name. When he got to the top, he pushed back the bundle of leaves sitting on a branch. There she was, curled up with her knees to her chest, her face buried in her knees. Ed's expression tightened. His hand reached out, fingers barely tapping her soft shoulder.

"Winry…?"

She jolted at his voice, looking up with frantic orbs. The moment that she saw the golden-haired, golden-eyed figure at her side, she put a hand on her chest and sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's you…" she murmured, mostly to herself.

"Who else would it be?" His rhetorical question spoke for itself.

The young lady shuttered and stared straight ahead. A deep frown embedded on her seemingly flawless features.

"I just hate bees," Winry stated, her tone low.

Ed exhaled through his nose. Like thunderstorms, this was one of the few fears that his childhood friend harbored, ever since she was a little girl. He held out his hand and granted her a look of sympathy.

"I know, and they're gone. I checked." He spoke softly. "C'mon, Win. Let's go."

Her head bobbed up and down in unsure nods. After he helped her out of the tree, they made their way out of the miniature forest. There they were, at the top of a hill, which sloped into a mile of rich caramel planes. It contradicted Resembool's stereotype of "forever-green".

Winry stopped in her tacks to take in that fresh rural air—but mostly to review the moments before. It re-played like a film reel in her mind. The panic in their faces, the urgency in their sprint, the clumsiness in their reckless attempts to hide. _Especially_ their incredulous argument. All of this forced a chuckle from her throat. That chuckle merged into another, then another, then one more, until she could no longer hold in the hysterical fits of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Ed's mouth curled down into a frown, blonde brows knitting together.

She bent over, holding her trembling stomach. Her cheeks ached from smiling as wide as she did. Her laugh-addled gut begged for her to relax. It couldn't be helped; Mr. Elric found himself smirking at her priceless gestures. The laughter was contagious.

His rows of teeth separated, releasing a bellowing laugh. He was unable to stop, dropping to his knees in mirthful tears. When one of them snorted, the other laughed even harder. It was a chain link of endless giggles, gasping, and rasping.

All of a sudden, a single bee darted out of the trees, cutting right between them. This interrupted Miss Rockbell's smile and caused her to screech, pouncing on Edward with force he didn't even know she had. They ungracefully toppled down the hill in result.

Bodies rolled on top of each other, their backs occasionally colliding with the ground. Once they reached the bottom, the bee was out of sight.

Limbs were tangled, hair was intermingled, heads were throbbing, throats were croaking. Winry barely managed to separate her eyelids, but when she had, she watched the world sideways for quite some time. She then noticed the strong pulse beneath her temple, pumping in and out with each gentle breath. Whatever it was, the figure beneath her served as a firm mattress. After lifting her head, she found out that the mattress just-so-happened to be Edward.

His arms and legs were thrown like a ragdoll, his maw slit open and groaning. She scooted up so she could see him face-to-face. His eyelids finally cracked open.

"Pinned ya," she mused, her smirk taking up half of her face.

Ed snorted. Nonetheless, he could not resist a sneer as a bulb lit above his crown. In one swift motion he flipped her over, roles switching. His meaty hands had her wrists prisoner, pinning them to each side of her head.

He mirrored her face-splitting smirk and echoed her earlier words. "Pinned ya."

The corner of her mouth twitched. Though more giggles threatened to escape, it never made it past her windpipe.

Why it was _now_ that she recognized every handsome feature on the man pinning her, she did not know, but she couldn't stop acknowledging how radiant he was in the sunlight. How the warmth kissed his cheeks and outlined his bangs. How the Xerxes blood that pulsed through his veins shun through in this rare seasonal lighting. His exterior could even be deemed as supernal. It was in times like these that Winry pondered the possibility of him being a god rather than human. Then again, he had far too much spirit and charisma to be considered "flawless".

She was no less god-like. Edward admired how her sunny links of hair scattered in the crisp grass, half blanketed in shade cast by his form—the other half under the impression of the merciless sun. Her twin irises, which were usually an oceanic blue color, were now a bright crystal. Her fare skin was comparable to a porcelain doll. So fragile, so delicate. Oh Lord, her lips… so plush and pink, puckering with natural hues. He subconsciously wondered what they would feel like on his…

The smirks that they wore earlier had ran off with their sanity. They were trapped in each other's daze, too deeply hypnotized to float back to reality.

There was no other way to put it; Edward was simply not in his right mind. He was no longer the boy, she was no longer the girl. He was no longer the alchemist, she was no longer the mechanic. They were no longer those kids that grew up together, played in the mud together, took turns on the swing, shared juice boxes and blankets, spent the afternoons taking naps and watching the clouds roll by, spent the mornings walking to the schoolhouse, watched as each other's lives fell apart, observed as they both transitioned into puberty, turning into two benevolent teenagers. They were no longer Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell. They had no identity, and that alone enabled them to surpass the block wall of affection.

He subconsciously leaned down, mouth inching toward hers. She hadn't the slightest idea of what he was doing, what he was thinking. Nevertheless, she certainly didn't resist. Her eyes slid shut like a silky smooth curtain. Amidst the blinding darkness, she awaited his arrival. Nothing seemed to happen, though the sound of his breathing advanced, closer and closer until she could _feel_ the throat's wind against her maw. She was already tingling, even before receiving the kiss.

Edward's lips were a little dry, always fleshy. Therefore, it came as sweet relief when his barely grazed hers. He was oblivious to the world around him… even to the familiar buzzing that flew past his eardrum. Just when he was going to push further, just when he thought he had hit homerun…

_Buzz!_

"…_YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-OUUUUCHH!_"

The girl was stunned as a piercing cry penetrated her ears. She was forced to open her eyes, blinking frequently, only to catch up with what had happened.

The boy jolted off of her, face scrunching in pain. His fingers twitched, knuckles cracking under the subjected pressure. Winry looked closer.

On his derriere, a small yellow-and-black thing curled into a ball, eventually plunging to its death in the grass. Meanwhile, it left a piece of its body behind—the stinger. The death weapon sunk deeply into sheaths of skin, though Ed's trousers hid the raw and very pink flesh surrounding it.

Cringing, his jaw clenching, his expression lines creasing, he reached over to his behind. With one big pull, he tore the stinger from his flesh. He then brought it to his front, so he could glare at the damned stinger with all he could muster. Not only had that bastard stung him, but it stung him in the _butt!_ This was beyond humiliation.

Winry wanted to blush, to share his humiliation, to sympathize, but all she was capable of was a series of rolling chuckles and snickers. Suddenly, she had forgotten about the almost-kiss only moments before.

He blatantly ignored her laughs, too focused on seething at the stinger between his fingers. Turning around, he spotted the lifeless insect below, lying in its golden death bed.

"Serves you right," he uttered. Mr. Elric narrowed his eyes, and with a loud grumble, he crushed it using the sole of his shoe. Many times, actually.

She smiled to her fullest extent. Even when Ed was just being Ed, he could still make her laugh.

It was definite; Winry would always remember this summer… the summer that reminded her of a saying Granny Pinako once used.

"When it comes to the birds and bees, the hummingbird chirps sweetly, while the bumblebee stings with unrelenting reality."

**_Fin._**


End file.
